Karnataka bypolls: Congress-JD(S) leads in 2 LS seats, BJP in 1

Karnataka bypolls counting Election Commission staff unpacking EVMs for counting in the Karnataka bypolls | Twitter handle of ANI

The ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition candidates in Karnataka were leading in two Lok Sabha constituencies and two Assembly segments in the bypolls held Saturday, according to initial trends as counting of votes was taken up this morning.

The BJP was ahead in the Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat.

The Congress was leading in Bellary and its coalition partner Janata Dal (Secular) in the Mandya parliamentary seats, electoral officials said.

The JD(S)-Congress coalition was also leading in Ramanagara and Jamkhandi Assembly segments, respectively. In Bellary, Congress' V.S. Ugrappa was leading by 84,257 over Bharatiya Janata Party's J. Shantha.

BJP's B.Y. Raghavendra, the son of former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, was leading ahead of JD(S)' Madhu Bangarappa by 9,665 votes votes in Shivamogga.

In Mandya, JD(S)' Shivarame Gowda was leading over BJP's Siddaramaiah. 

Bypolls for the three Lok Sabha constituencies of Shimoga, Bellary and Mandya and two assembly constituencies of Ramanagara and Jamkhandi, which were held on Saturday, are seen as a crucial popularity test for the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition.

An estimated 67 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the bypolls. Counting of votes began at 8am and a total of 1,248 counting staff have been deployed for it. Elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure that no untoward incident takes place during the counting of votes, police officials said.

A total of 31 candidates were in the fray from the five constituencies, though the contest is mainly between the Congress-JD(S) combine and the BJP.

The bypoll results will determine the fate of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's wife Anita Kumaraswamy, state BJP chief B.S. Yeddyurappa's son B.Y. Raghavendra and former chief minister S. Bangarappa's son Madhu Bangarappa among others.

Anita Kumaraswamy is expected to have smooth sailing in Ramanagara, after BJP nominee L. Chandrashekhar withdrew from the contest and rejoined the Congress.

In Jamkhandi, it remains to be seen whether the Congress' Anand Nyamagouda will be able to make a successful electoral debut, riding on a sympathy wave following the death of his father Siddu Nyamagouda.

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah, who is the Congress MLA from neighbouring Badami assembly constituency, had invested lot of time for campaigning in Jamkhandi.

In Shimoga, Raghavendra is testing his fortunes against another ex-chief minister's son, Madhu Bangarappa, of the JD(S).

Mahima J. Patel, son of Janata Parivar veteran and former chief minister J.H. Patel is also in the fray as a JD(U) candidate. In Bellary, senior BJP leader Sriramulu's sister J. Shantha is fighting against V.S. Ugrappa of the Congress.

In the Vokkaliga bastion of Mandya, JD(S)'s Shivarame Gowda is pitted against a fresh face—Dr Siddaramaiah, a retired commercial tax officer, of the BJP.

Among the interesting things that one needs to watch out for is to what extent the BJP would be able to make inroads into the JD(S) bastion of Mandya and the Congress stronghold of Jamkhandi.

Of similar interest would be to what extent the Congress will be able to regain its significance in its erstwhile party stronghold of Bellary.

The Congress and JD(S) had fought bitterly against each other in the May assembly polls, especially in the old Mysuru region, but had joined hands to form a coalition government after a fractured mandate.

The outcome of the bypolls is expected to have a bearing on the equations between the Congress and the JD(S) for the 2019 general elections and also be a factor in determining the bargaining power of the two parties.

The bypolls assume significance as the ruling coalition partners contested together, terming it a "prelude" to the Lok Sabha polls next year, and called for a similar "grand secular alliance" against the BJP at the national level.

The announcement of the bypolls for the Lok Sabha seats came as a surprise to all the three major political parties in the state—the Congress, BJP and JD(S)—who questioned the need for the exercise when the general elections are due early next year.

The byelections were necessitated after Yeddyurappa (Shimoga), Sriramalu (Bellary), and C.S. Puttaraju of JD(S) (Mandya) resigned as MPs following their election to the Karnataka Assembly.

Bypoll to Jamkhandi assembly seat was necessitated due to the death of Congress MLA Siddu Nyamagouda, while Ramanagara fell vacant after Kumaraswamy gave up the seat, preferring Chennapatna, the other constituency from where he had also won.